This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
Robert MacIntyre hit an unfathomable shot. He was in the rough in a gusting wind from 214 yards out and his ball nestled 3 ½ feet from the cup. There had been only two birdies on the hole all day. MacIntyre sank the birdie putt. He walked off the 18th green at the Renaissance Club to the adoring cheers of his fellow Scotlanders. He had tears in eyes. Really, he did.
MacIntyre had a one-stroke lead in the Scottish Open, his national championship, and was about to become one of the biggest golf stories of the year. There was only thing that stood in his way.
Unfortunately for MacIntyre, that one thing was perhaps the greatest golfer of this generation, Rory McIlroy, who not only birdied the 17th hole to tie, he then sank a 10-footer for birdie on 18 to steal the Scottish Open on the eve of the Open Championship.
As noted, that was only fourth birdie all day on 18, and McIlroy had not birdied either hole earlier in the week.
All eyes were already on McIlroy heading into Royal Liverpool, where he won the Open in 2014 the last time it was contested there. But now, oooh boy.
McIlroy had been coming close the entire PGA Tour season – he's actually already won, way back in the fall at the C.J. Cup. But the near-misses surely had piled up, most recently a runner-up at the U.S. Open.
"To finish 2, 3 in these conditions, the two iron shots that I hit, the 5-iron into 17 and the 2-iron into the last are probably two of the best shots I've hit all year," said McIlroy, "and then to finish them off with the putts as well.
"Yeah, it feels absolutely amazing. I've had a few close calls recently so to get over the line and get this bit of confidence going into next week and the rest of the season is huge."
Not that this matters much for McIlroy, but the win, his 24th on the PGA Tour, moved him past Jon Rahm to No. 2 in the world rankings.
As much as the Scottish fans love McIlroy, he's not one of their own like MacIntyre is. The scene on 18 after Bobby Mac's birdie putt was moving.
"Yeah, I'll never forget it," MacIntyre said. "I had to take a minute coming off 18. I mean, that's why I play this sport. That's why I'm in The Scottish Open, and if not The Open, The Scottish Open will be up there with the event I want to play for the rest of my life. It's one I've dreamed of winning since I watched at home, and I thought today coming down once I birdied 18, I thought, this might be the one."
Maybe that's what helped McIlroy this week, that he wasn't the top fan favorite like he will be at the Open. That belonged to MacIntyre this week.
Either way, it is now almost a decade since McIlroy has won a major. He's been stuck on four since 2014. If he doesn't win this week, it'll be more than a decade by the time the Masters rolls around next April.
For many players, having such an exhilarating win the week before a major might make it difficult to get prepared just four days later.
Not so with McIlroy. If anything, we think this will further enhance his chances to win a second Claret Jug.
MONDAY BACKSPIN
Robert MacIntyre
MacIntyre was supposed to be the next great player from the U.K., a sweet-swing lefty with the game to match. He's still only 26, but his game, and career, had stalled, and he had fallen out of the top-100 in the world. It appeared all that would change on Sunday, on his home soil. And even though he didn't win, maybe it did change. This may kick-start his career, and the Open Championship coming this week may be perfect timing. MacIntyre has two Open top-10s already. Expect him to put forth another good effort this week. He still is also fighting for a Ryder Cup berth and will jump into the top-3 on the European points list, according to noted OWGR expert @VC606 on Twitter. MacIntyre is also back to No. 54 in the world.
Scottie Scheffler
Ho-hum, a tie for third, the seventh straight top-5 showing for Scheffler. Look for another at Royal Liverpool.
Byeong Hun An
If you think MacIntyre's career had stalled, An would like a word. He won the U.S. Amateur. He's a former European Tour rookie of the year. But now he's 31, he had lost his PGA tour card last year, he switched to a long putter to try, well, anything. An opened with a 61 and, while he didn't win, he was strong all week and tied for third. That got him one of the final three berths in the Open Championship. We're not saying An's career will turn around now. It was just one good week in a season that hasn't had many of them.
David Lingmerth
Lingmerth had missed six cuts in seven starts heading into the Scottish Open. And the only non-MC was a WD. But he had one of the best weeks of his career, tying for third to secure one of the final three berths in the Open Championship. Lingmerth is now 35 and has battled injuries, so don't make any long-range plans with him.
Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood gave it a good run in Scotland. He wound up doubling the last to fall into a tie for sixth. Still, that's his third top-6 in his past four starts, one of them being the U.S. Open. His confidence, and his game, are sky-high heading into Royal Liverpool.
Tyrrell Hatton
Hatton continued a season that is probably the best of anyone without a win so far, certainly now that Rickie Fowler no longer qualifies. He tied for sixth. But Hatton was also leading this tournament early on Sunday, only to collapse on the back nine with three bogeys and then a double on 18. That's disappointing, for sure, but his game is in good shape for the Open.
Tom Kim
Kim wound up tied for sixth, and that was with a soul-crushing double bogey on 18. All in all, his game is in great shape of late (T8 at the U.S. Open) and heading into the final major of the season.
Nicolai Hojgaard
Hojgaard's twin brother, Rasmus, was already in the Open field. Now, maybe they can share a house for the week. Nicolai scooped up the third and final berth being held for top finishers of the Scottish Open with a tie for sixth. He had already been playing on the PGA Tour with a Special Temporary Membership. He's still only 22, but he might be able to make some noise at Royal Liverpool.
J.T. Poston
Poston came out of nowhere, amid a bad season, to tie for sixth. He already was in the Open. Despite his good week in Scotland, simply making the cut next week would be an accomplishment.
Jordan Smith
The Englishman had been playing well coming in, continued to do so at the Renaissance Club, and we could see him on TV at Royal Liverpool – meaning, we think he'll have a good Open week. Smith tied for 12th at the Scottish Open.
MISSED CUTS
For most players, we're not going to put too much emphasis on a missed cut the week before a major. It won't result in a downgrade. But we do want to point out a few guys, notably Sungjae Im. He has not been playing well for a couple of months now and has not had a good Open Championship in his two career starts. Making the cut at Royal Liverpool is far from certain for Im. Cam Davis and Aaron Rai might be the two best players not in the field. Davis at least is the first alternate if someone WDs. Rai will not play, and that has to be bitter for the Englishman who could probably have a very good week if only he would've been able to play. Ludvig Aberg, the Swedish sensation, also missed the cut, so we won't see him this week. But maybe next week at the 3M Open and then the Wyndham in the final two regular-season tournaments.
BARBASOL CHAMPIONSHIP
The difficulty in closing out a PGA Tour win, especially your first, was on full display at the opposite-field Barbasol. First, Tour rookie Trevor Cone doubled 16 to miss a playoff by a shot. There was a playoff because another rookie, Vincent Norrman, bogeyed 18 -- and needed a great putt to avoid double. Norrman went to a playoff with DP World Tour player Nathan Kimsey, who nearly hit his tee ball on the first extra hole OB. He couldn't recover for par and Norrman emerged the winner, with another shaky par. The 25-year-old Swede and Florida State alum has shown flashes this season, with a top-10 at the Byron Nelson and a top-25 his previous time out at the Rocket Mortgage. He gets a two-year exemption on Tour, but not a Masters invite.
